I think everyone saw this; it's HEADLINES on Yahoo and reuter news, as well as Kotaku and Joystiq, about two gamer-parents that neglect their children because of MMO.
One forseeable consequence I saw is that it prove that gamers will be bad no matter what, and will eventually equate them as drugs... though honeastly, I do think that it's no different from liquor; moderate amount is good. Excessive of gaming is bad.
Unfortunately, that's basically what hardcore gamers are, using game as a lifes t y l e which depend on how you spin it, is equate to excess. Even worse is that this "hardcore gaming is a lifes t y l e" is not from mainstream, but from hardcore gamers itself.
So i can see a long term reprocussion of this. This is even worse than Columbine, or VT, because now it's not a psychopath, or two teenagers. It's parents, people who are suppose to govern thaeir kids. In the past, we have all trying to say that parents should be responsible... but now, mainstream can use the argument that gamers will never be responsible, and should be nibbed in the bud before they "screw up" the society.
Now, as much as I dislike JT, I do have to appreciate the fact that he troll around blogs and MSB to find evidence by gamers. Everything that is consider as positive things by hardcore gamers can easily be twisted against us. For example, "gaming is a lifes t y l e", "we don't like wiifit", etc can easily translate into "gaming is same as alcoholic", "gamers have weight problem." Heck, I would not be surprise if they refer to hardcore gamers as "gameholic."
Right now, I can only hope that they will see it more of alcohol than drug, since at leats alcohol, you can get some of them, while if they see it as drug, they will ban it forever.
Yea, it's pretty pathetic, but if the parents were that weak minded in the first place I'm sure if games existed they would find some other dependency to ruin their lives. Survival of the Fittest IMO
Definately unfortunate for the childrens sake. I spend a lot of time playing games (arguably to much time) but I can never see myself getting so addicted to a game that I neglect my own children. Thats on a whole nother level of craziness.
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